Does Qigong Help with Chronic Health Problems?
Friday Millbrook Library Class
I thought you might find this article from the NIH interesting. It describes how Qigong compares to more conventional practices in relieving symptoms of chronic health conditions including fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, Parkinson’s, cancer, and COPD.
Some take-aways:
Quite often Qigong has been found to be at least as good as the more conventional approaches. In other words, Qigong is a great alternative for those of us who get bored by, or are uncomfortable with, typical exercise protocols.
Most of the studies looked at people who practiced at least 2 or 3X a week, for 45-60 minutes a session. Consistency of practice matters!
More studies are needed and being done. Meanwhile, we can be our own one-person studies because, ultimately, what matter most is if you feel better when YOU do Qigong. Has your health and mental/emotional resilience improved? Do you get sick less and recover more quickly? Has your balance, your flexibility, your ability to deal with stress, your sleep, maybe even your zest for life increased? If you’re like me, the answer to all of these questions is a firm and qi-full “YES!”